I Can Explain
by alwayssuperwholocked
Summary: Audrey was beginning her final year of school. She just had to finish writing her thesis and survive the school year. Between friends, teachers and getting crushed, she was struggling to say the least. Could she let someone into her heart? Or will she graduate with her Masters in English Literature and live her life with a what if? Tom Hiddleston/OC (Rated M for a few chapters)


Audrey was beginning her final year of graduate school and was working with her professors to the point of annoyance. She had every intention of becoming a writer and a teacher eventually.

She liked all of her professors for the most part but she definitely had a favorite. Professor Hiddleston didn't look down on her like most of the others did. He also helped her as much as he could, like he did with all his students. He was one of the few teachers that actually _enjoyed_ teaching. She had even at one point thought that she had fallen in love with the man. It also helped that he was quite attractive but she wasn't going to throw herself at the man as many of her classmates have in the past. It is rumored around campus that the beloved professor is almost abstinent for as many years he has been teaching as, through the years, many beautiful women threw themselves at him he had yet to crack. Allegedly he was engaged to an investigative journalist a few years back before they called it quits, but that was before Audrey's arrival on campus and rumors can be rather tricky.

Audrey was almost appalled by how her classmates behaved. They would dress inappropriately for class. Now don't get her wrong, she's all for women wearing whatever they want but there is a place and time for a chaeta print tube dress and red stilettos and a nine am is not that time. Also, they said the most inappropriate things at the worst time. Audrey wondered how Thomas hadn't snapped on someone before this.

August arrived and so did moving day. Audrey had decided that she wanted to live in her own apartment with her best friend Vera. The two of them had moved in a week early to avoid running into other students. Getting through school was rough especially because she was there on scholarships and had no extra cash to spare. She went down to her usual job as a waitress and found that they didn't have a position for her to fill.

"VERA!" She called into the apartment.

"What?" Vera snapped from the kitchen. She was trying to have a private phone call with her boyfriend and was rather upset that she had been interrupted.

"I don't have a job. What am I going to do?!" Vera quickly hung up the phone and made an appearance into the living room.

"Just live off me." Vera's parents were essentially loaded and she had inherited quite a bit of money. Audrey would have felt bad if she lived off Vera, they both knew it but Vera offered anyways.

"No. Never. I guess I'll have to find a different job." Audrey sighed, already feeling defeated. They spent the rest of the day sifting through job sites and different ads.

"Well I hate to say it but it looks like I'm going to have to go generic." Audrey shrugged.

"No." They were wandering around campus at this point, enjoying the emptiness of it before the other students arrived. Several students thought like them and were milling around as well but not enough to bother them.

"I don't see the problem with it." Audrey said to her friend, sipping on her tea. Audrey didn't want to live off her friend but she wasn't about to turn down free food.

"Some people see it as degrading and what if some of the guys from class see you dancing." Yes, Audrey was considering being an exotic dancer. She hadn't seen a problem with it as she had thoroughly thought this through before bringing it up to her dear friend who only wanted to look out for her.

"I don't see anything wrong with it and honestly it's not like I'm being a prostitute."

"Ladies, I suggest that if you don't want to be taken out of context you should lower your speaking volume." The pair slowly to see Professor Hiddleston standing a few feet behind them.

"I'm sorry sir." Audrey said then had a rather fantastic idea. "Sir I have a question to ask you."

"If it has anything to do with you being a prostitute Ms. McKinnon then I don't think I want to know about it." Tom put his hands up and smiled at the young woman before him.

"It's not. Would you judge someone for being an exotic dancer in order to help themselves pay bills?" Vera was snickering behind her coffee but Tom didn't see why. It was a legitimate question that her friend seemed to have.

"No I suppose not. And I agree with your other statement. At least that person is not selling their bodies cheaply at the enjoyment of others, it's just the image." Tom's mind instantly put the image of Audrey dancing on a pole but pushed it to the back of his mind. Vera was shocked at his response and Audrey looked smug that her teacher took her side in this.

"Thank you, sir."

"But I wouldn't advise taking a job near campus. From what the papers tell me many of our male students quite enjoy starting problems in that club." With that he walked away leaving both girls with their mouths hanging open.

Tom thought of Audrey as he walked away. He would love to see her dance if he could. The berated himself for thinking of his top student like that but he couldn't help himself. He noticed how beautiful she was and it wasn't like she had a small chest.

"Hiddleston stop it. You have to teach her and be able to work with her as her adviser. She doesn't even look at you like that." If only he knew that the two girls that he had just talked too had stayed up quite a few nights discussing how good they thought about how 'Professor Thomas Hiddleston' would be in bed. Vera thinks that he's a freak, saying one night after a few too many margaritas that "No one can look and act as perfect and gentlemanly as him and not have something a little darker in bed." Audrey on the other hand disagreed. Audrey believed that Thomas was sweet and gentle, but could get kinky if he wanted too. Many a night was spent on these debates but back to Tom.

Over the years a select few exceptional women caught his attention and usually it wasn't the ones throwing themselves at him. It was the intelligent ones. He hardly noticed the breasts that would throw themselves at him, but top marks and a kind smile got someone farther than a push up bra and heels. None had held his attention quite like Audrey though. He couldn't figure it out. He has had girlfriends and at one point a fiancée that he tried to keep quite from the student body... Naturally everyone knew overnight. But since the fiancée four years ago, he hasn't been in a relationship since. He has been becoming extremely frustrated, both physically and emotionally; especially since Audrey began taking his classes.

He was ashamed to say that he has wanked to the thought of her. What he didn't know is she found him as attractive and was rather infatuated with him. Audrey, if she had known, would have been quite alright with it but she didn't so a twinge of guilt followed poor Tom every time he saw her.


End file.
